Our poet laureate, Michele Bombardier, will be reading at this event!

For the schedule and for more information: https://www.farawayentertainment.com/movie/rally-for-democracy

Foraging for Imagery: Generative Poetry Workshop and Walk with Creative Resident Laura Villareal

Humans are naturally metaphor seeking, but in this hectic and distraction-riddled world it can be difficult to hone in on our environment. In this class, we will go for a walk through the Bloedel gardens and spend time observing various plants. We’ll discuss how to locate metaphors and other figurative language in our observations. Through guided questions and prompts, we will generate new poems after the walk.

WHERE Meet at the Japanese Guest House, Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island

Click here for tickets: https://bloedelreserve.org/event/foraging-for-imagery/

An afternoon of poetry from slam artists and students to raise funds for Tuberculosis research and treatment.

For more info and tickets: https://bainbridgecurrents.com/event/partners-in-poetry-2/

Laugh, cry, and feel inspired by 10-minute vignettes on stage by local Asian American artists, authors, poets, and performers sharing “Their Story, Their Glory, and Their Struggle.”

Recommended contribution of $20

For tickets: https://www.biartmuseum.org/event/asian-monologues/

MoonPath Press presents poets Lisa Ashley and Cindy Veach. They will read from their latest books in this online gathering.

For more information and to register follow this link: https://moonpathpress.com/ReadingInvitation17May25.htm

Guest readers Erin Malone and Kathryn Hunt will be joining us for an evening of poetry!

Erin Malone is a poet and editor living on Bainbridge Island. Her newest collection, Site of Disappearance (Ornithopter, 2023), was a finalist for the National Poetry Series and the Alice James Award.

Kathryn Hunt is a poet and writer and makes her home in Port Townsend, Washington, on the coast of the Salish Sea. She is author of two poetry collections, Long Way Through Ruin and Seed Wheel, and two chapbooks, The Country I Come From and She Who Walks the Earth. She is the cofounder and curator of Poetry on the Salish Sea, a poetry series that brings poets from around the Pacific NW and beyond to the Olympic Peninsula. kathrynhunt.net

Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate, Michele Bombardier, and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

Poetry Corners LIVE

Saturday, April 26th from 2 – 4 p.m. Poetry Corners exhibit and anthology poets read their works. Followed by Poetry Corners Anthology book sale and reception. https://www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org/poetry-corners

Teen Night at BARN

Friday, April 18th from 6 – 9 p.m. Teens (grades 7-12) gather for a free evening of art, friends, and creativity! Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Michele Bombardier will be the guest artist. https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/assnfe/ev.asp?ID=5320892

WRITING AS RESISTANCE: Art Disrupts Authoritarianism, So Let's Make Art

Join Michele Bombardier, Bainbridge Island's Poet Laureate, in this generative workshop. We will listen to some poems and write poems or prose of our own. Authoritarians have always understood a certain truth: creativity is a threat to their power. The suppression of artists and the creation of state approved art have historically characterized totalitarian regimes. - Human Rights Foundation

Friday, April 18th, 3-4:30 pm at the Bainbridge Public Library Meeting Room. Just bring yourself, paper, and a pen!

Guest reader Rae Armantrout will be joining us for an evening of poetry!

Rae Armantrout has published more than two dozen books, including her recent book Go Figure, which came out from Wesleyan in August of 2024. Armantrout’s poems have appeared in journals and anthologies including several editions of The Best American Poetry series, The Norton Anthology of Postmodern American Poetry, Poetry, The New Yorker, Lana Turner, Granta, and The Nation. In 2010 her book Versed won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. She is the current judge of the Yale Younger Poets Prize.

Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate, Michele Bombardier, and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

ARS POETICA 2025. Artwork Interpreting Poetry. Readings & Receptions:

JG Art – Saturday, April 5. 1 – 2:30 p.m.

Bainbridge Arts & Crafts – Saturday, April 5. 2:30 – 4 p.m.

Bainbridge Island Photography Club – Wednesday, April 9. 7 – 8:30 p.m.

https://www.arspoeticawa.com/

Healing through Creativity: An Afternoon with Pongo Poetry Project. Sunday, April 6. 3 – 5 p.m. at Bainbridge Performing Arts. The community is invited to learn about Pongo Poetry Project, a dynamic non-profit organization inspiring healing among youth in crisis. Enjoy poetry and other creative activities.

Purchase tickets: https://pongopoetryproject.org/healing-through-creativity-bainbridge/

Location: THE BUXTON CENTER FOR BAINBRIDGE PERFORMING ARTS, 200 MADISON AVE N. BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA 98110

For more info and tickets: https://pongopoetryproject.org/healing-through-creativity-bainbridge/

ARS POETICA 2025. Artwork Interpreting Poetry. Readings & Receptions:

JG Art – Saturday, April 5. 1 – 2:30 p.m.

Bainbridge Arts & Crafts – Saturday, April 5. 2:30 – 4 p.m.

Bainbridge Island Photography Club – Wednesday, April 9. 7 – 8:30 p.m.

https://www.arspoeticawa.com/

ARS POETICA 2025. Artwork Interpreting Poetry. Readings & Receptions:

JG Art – Saturday, April 5. 1 – 2:30 p.m.

Bainbridge Arts & Crafts – Saturday, April 5. 2:30 – 4 p.m.

Bainbridge Island Photography Club – Wednesday, April 9. 7 – 8:30 p.m.

https://www.arspoeticawa.com/

Guest reader Jane Wong will be joining us for an evening of poetry!

Jane Wong is the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023), winner of the Washington State book award. She also wrote two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). She grew up in a take-out restaurant on the Jersey shore and is an Associate Professor at Western Washington University.

Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate, Michele Bombardier, and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

Join us for a reading, conversation, and book signing event with Bloedel Reserve Creative Resident, Cedar Sigo.

For more info and tickets: https://bloedelreserve.org/event/cedar-sigo-event/

Third of three classes in this workshop.

Use poetry prompts specifically curated for their ability to inspire writing from the "belly," not the brain.

To enroll and for more info: https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/AssnFe/ev.asp?ID=5321087

Second of three classes in this workshop.

Use poetry prompts specifically curated for their ability to inspire writing from the "belly," not the brain.

To enroll and for more info: https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/AssnFe/ev.asp?ID=5321087

Guest reader Gabrielle Bates will be joining us for an evening of poetry!

Gabrielle Bates's poems have appeared in the New Yorker, Ploughshares, Poetry Society of America, and the Cascadia Field Guide anthology. Her debut collection, Judas Goat (Tin House, 2023), was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award in Poetry and an NPR Best Book of 2023. Originally from Alabama, Gabrielle is currently based in Seattle, where she helps out at Open Books: A Poem Emporium, co-hosts the podcast The Poet Salon, and serves occasionally as visiting faculty for the University of Washington Rome Center and the Tin House Writers' Workshops.

Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate, Michele Bombardier, and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, 93 Pike St #307, Seattle, WA 98101

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, poetry lovers everywhere —swing by Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum and prepare to spin and soar as we celebrate the release of Flying: Trapeze Poems by poet and Folio member Lillo Way. Step into the spotlight of daring leaps and breathtaking words with poetry readings by poets Heidi Seaborn and Sandra Yannone, and enjoy a reception to conclude this circus-themed book launch!"

More info here: https://www.folioseattle.org/event-details/flying-trapeze-poems-by-lillo-way

First of three classes in this workshop.

Use poetry prompts specifically curated for their ability to inspire writing from the "belly," not the brain.

To enroll and for more info: https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/AssnFe/ev.asp?ID=5321087

One of two sessions offered.

To reserve a spot and for more info: https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/assnfe/CourseView.asp?MODE=VIEW&clCourseID=52399

One of two sessions offered.

To reserve a spot and for more info: https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/assnfe/CourseView.asp?MODE=VIEW&clCourseID=52399

Guest reader Heidi Seaborn will be joining us for an evening of poetry!

Guest reader Heidi Seaborn is a multiple award-winning poet and the Executive Editor of The Adroit Journal. Her third book of poetry, tic tic tic, is forthcoming in 2025 from Cornerstone Press. She holds degrees from Stanford and NYU.

Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

MICHELE BOMBARDIER will be our feature on Nov 21st! Michele is an award-winning poet and author and is Bainbridge's inaugural poet laureate. www.michelebombardier.com

*Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

This poetry reading and workshop with poet Michele Bombardier and facilitated by Araceli Cruz will include discussion, Q&A, and writing prompts for participants to write their own poems to loved ones.

Find out about the festival here: https://www.biartmuseum.org/event/dia-de-los-muertos-community-celebrations/

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) 550 Winslow Way E.

Guest speaker Brittney Corrigan will be joining us for an evening of poetry!

Brittney Corrigan is the author of five poetry collections: Daughters, Breaking, Navigation, 40 Weeks and most recently, Solastalgia, a collection of poems about climate change, extinction, and the Anthropocene Age (JackLeg Press, 2023). Brittney was raised in Colorado and has lived in Portland, Oregon for the past three decades, where she is an alumna and employee of Reed College. Her debut short story collection, The Ghost Town Collectives, is forthcoming from Middle Creek Publishing in October, 2024. For more information, visit www.brittneycorrigan.com.

Sign up to read opens at 6:45pm. Ages 14+

*Cookies, courtesy of T & C, wine, and tea will be served.

*Hosted by our poet laureate and Bainbridge Public Library. Event held at Bainbridge Public Library at 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

DETAILS: Island Theatre Presents First Class at the Bainbridge Public Library

“Theodore Roethke and Bloedel Reserve: A Poet’s Place” will be accompanied by an Island Theatre playreading of First Class by the late poet and Roethke student David Wagoner at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 28, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, at the Bainbridge Public Library; both readings are free, with donations welcome. Set in one of Roethke’s legendary poetry workshops, the 75-minute production features Island Theatre founder Steve Stolee as Theodore Roethke.

"This is a poetry workshop, God help us,” begins First Class. In his introduction to the play, David Wagoner wrote: “Most of the teaching methods of artists in all categories have gone unrecorded. We know very little about what great painters and great composers, for instance, said to their pupils. In First Class I've tried to re-create the atmosphere of one of Roethke's poetry workshops, working mostly from my memories of him and a number of examples of the kinds of poems and opinions he admired, some of the near rituals he used both on students and himself, some of his unique spirit, and some of the hectic ways Time and Place would leap over each other for him as if he were in charge of both."

In the process, the audience is swept into not only the exhilarating milieu of Roethke’s classroom, but also the terrible landscape of the mental illness that clouded most of his life.

"Theodore Roethke and Bloedel Reserve: A Poet’s Place” is made possible through by a grant from the Bainbridge Community Foundation and funding from the City of Bainbridge Island. Other Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Program support comes from the Bainbridge Public Library and Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN).